Man Suspected of Killing His Ex-Girlfriend Surrenders to Police : Crime: Mark Bowersock, wanted for shooting Laurel Ann Prejean, gives himself up after calling TV station.

A man suspected of murdering his ex-girlfriend in Saugus surrendered to police Wednesday after calling a Los Angeles television station to say he would give himself up if a reporter would first interview him, authorities said.

Mark Mearl Bowersock, 38, is accused of shooting Laurel Ann Prejean, 36, at the home of her sister on Friday. It was the first slaying reported in the Santa Clarita area in 1 1/2 years.

Authorities had issued an arrest warrant for Bowersock, who was released from jail just five days before the slaying upon completing a sentence for violating probation on a 1994 conviction of beating another former girlfriend.

Bowersock called KCAL-TV from a North Hills motel room at about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday.

“He was really upset, he was crying,” said Bernice Hyman, a KCAL newsroom assistant who answered Bowersock’s call. “He said, ‘I’m ready to turn myself in and I want to talk to a reporter before I do that.’ ”

Bowersock said, “the whole story wasn’t being told” about the killing, said Chuck Hollis, the station’s assignment editor.

Station officials told Bowersock they would have Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies with them when they came to the motel. “Here’s a guy charged with killing his ex-girlfriend, and we didn’t want to leave our reporter and photographer in a room alone with him and potentially give him a hostage,” Hollis said.

Bowersock agreed that he would surrender to the deputies. When they arrived, he was immediately arrested and led to a police car, having just enough time to say on camera, “I didn’t do it,” before being taken away.

Bowersock had checked into the Travel Inn motel Tuesday night using a different name, according to manager Mir Karim. Karim said he got a call from Bowersock on Wednesday morning.

“At 10:45 he called me from his room and said he had called Channel 9 news and the police station, and if they came I should send them to his room,” Karim said. “I said, ‘Is there anything wrong?’ He said, “No, everything’s fine. Don’t worry about it.’ ”

“I thought he was going to commit suicide,” Karim added.

Prejean had been staying at her sister’s house in Saugus after testifying at a December court hearing that she had been beaten by Bowersock, with whom she had recently broken up. She was on the telephone at about 3 p.m. Friday when she suddenly started to scream for help.

Deputies found her lying inside the house and her car stolen when they arrived shortly afterward.

Bowersock is in custody without bail at Men’s Central Jail in Los Angeles. He is expected to be arraigned today in Newhall Municipal Court on charges of first-degree murder, burglary and residential robbery.